


Take Care

by Heroicnoodles



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Angst, Everyone is of age, Flashbacks, Fluff, Government Conspiracy, M/M, Slow Burn, Supportive Keith, after kerberos, mental health, shiros messed up, supportive team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2018-09-26 12:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9896225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heroicnoodles/pseuds/Heroicnoodles
Summary: Everyone knew about Takashi Shirogane, he was the Garrison's Ace Pilot, he was lost with two others for a year in space and most of all, when he came back, he wasn't the same. After an incident that should've gotten him expelled, Keith Kogane has been forced into the role of his caretaker for the next three months.





	1. Chapter 1

This was stupid.

 

The whole situation was stupid, Keith thought to himself as he slammed the door of the Garrison-appointed jeep and jutted out his hip to keep his single box of possessions from falling. He shoved the keys in his pocket and turned to look at the small bleach white bungalow he'd be calling home for the next three months with a wrinkled nose. It was tinged orange from the frequent sandstorms that this Garrison base experienced on an almost weekly basis and was just one of the many bungalows that stood in perfect little rows in the 'residential' sector of the base.

 

Keith glanced down at his box to make sure all of his 8-10 possessions had not been left in the jeep, or at least that was the reason he made up to make himself feel better about not wanting to enter the dwelling. He had been to parties in those bungalows before, each a carbon copy of the other and they were fine. Simple yet comfortable homes usually reserved for officers on long term leave, people employed on base who weren't cadets or soldiers who were on recovery.

 

Seeing from the corner of his eye a jostle from the closed blinds in his designated bungalow he knew he'd been spotted, not being able to delay the inevitable any longer he took slow strides towards the house. Keith didn't exactly meet the criteria for living in one of these bungalows and if offered, yeah a nice place of his own would be nicer than bunking in the dorms, although he'd give anything to be back there now.

 

"Three months" he scoffed, leaning against the engine Hunk was trying to work on, an elbow into his side told him to move.

"Dude, c'mon, you should've been expelled for the stunt you pulled off, count yourself lucky it's only three months" Hunk said whilst staring into the hollow chamber the engine had once resided in, the thing now in his hands.

"You're acting like it's three months of torture, it's practically babysitting!" Lance said from the other side of the hangar, the hangar itself had been long abandoned on the edge of the base for structural regulations, until Keith started taking apart bikes there after lights out, to be honest it was only a matter of time before Lance and the rest of them found out.

"It's medical supervision" Pidge corrected him as she made a can of soda appear from underneath her appointed worktop, its source being the small mini fridge she had brought back to life and now housed copious amounts of energy drinks. "Which to be honest, our freshman first aid class does not meet the criteria for you to be anywhere near qualified to do this" she mused, kicking up her feet and resting them atop her fridge.

Keith crossed his arms and looked down at the ground, kicking away a stray bolt, "They told me who I'd be assigned to today" he said, Hunk grunted collectively for everyone in the hangar, "Who's the victim then?" he asked, Keith glanced up in Pidges direction and sighed.

"Shirogane" he stated. Lance and Hunk stilled and looked over at Pidge who visibly winced at the name, a moment of vulnerability shrugged away as she knocked back the rest of her drink and threw the can over her shoulder.

"Sucks to be you, Keith" she said.

 

'Sucks to be me alright...' Keith groaned inwardly as he produced the set of keys he had been given that morning from his pocket and moved to open the door, he turned the key and expected the door to open, frowning when his slight push did nothing, another shove gave him the same result. Sighing he took the key from the lock, probably having been given the wrong set. About to turn back to the car he almost jumped when a sharp bang followed by a series of sliding bolts and deadlocks being opened in succession. Finally the last bolt on the other side of the door unlocked and the door was opened.

"...Keith, right?" a guff voice answered from the darkness beyond the door, a single chain lock stopping the door opening all the way. Keith nodded to his name while trying to look like he wanted to be there. "Yep, that's me" he affirmed, wanting this awkward as hell introduction to end as fast as possible. The door slammed in his face and the last lock rattled as it was unlodged.

Keith clutched his box tighter when the door finally opened and he came face to face with his charge, former ace pilot, Takashi Shirogane.

 

Everyone knew Takashi 'Call me Shiro!' Shirogane, he had been the face of the Garrison Space and Exploration Division before he himself had even graduated.  
He was what every new cadet dreamed they could be, Keith knew because he was one of those doe eyed cadets that had joined four years ago when Shiro had just become an instructor. He had waltzed in to formerly introduce himself to the new recruits, in his stupid, perfect uniform and dumb lopsided smile. Keith had been there, hiding in the back of the classroom watching as Shiro stumbled over his words, over excited to be teaching his first class.

That was four years ago, a lot changed since then.

 

The Shiro standing in the doorway before Keith now was a sight for sore eyes. Keith knew about the arm, everyone on the base did, so he had braced himself for that. Fortunately for him it was wrapped neatly in mounds of bandages. It was the rest of him Keith was surprised about, Shiro was littered with scars, tons of them, the shorts and t-shirt he wore made no effort of hiding them. The most striking one however was the horizontal, crooked scar that ran across his face. It was accentuated even more by the lock of white hair that fell over his face and even in the darkness of the apartment, Keith could make out the bags under his eyes.  
Shiro made a gesture with the arm not holding the door open "...You coming inside?" he asked, Keith shuffled on the spot, wondering for a brief moment if he could make it back to the jeep if he ran fast enough.

"Sure" he said reluctantly, stepping inside the bungalow and accepting his fate. "Your room's here" Shiro said, shuffling through the darkness caused by the blackout blinds, Keith followed Shiro through the living area and past the tiny kitchenette that to his disgust, was overflowing with dishes.

 

To be honest, it was about 12 steps from the front door to Keiths' new room, Shiro gestured again into the one windowed room that contained a single bed, bedside locker, lamp with matching desk and chair. Keith wandered into the room and set his box down on the desk, glancing over at the laminated piece of card that had been set out for him.  
"This is..." he trailed off, looking over at Shiro who merely shrugged, already had read the thing.

 

"House rules, courtesy of the Garrison" Shiro explained, lingering in the doorway, "Their rules, not mine" he said.  
Keith looked back down at the card, his brow furrowing as he read each line. 'No sharp objects permitted on the premises. No alcohol or tobacco allowed on the premises. No medicines not prescribed by Garrison physicians allowed on the premises. Patient is to sign in daily at 6pm, failure to do so will result in lost of privileges." Keith didn't realise he was reading them allowed before Shiro spoke behind him, now sitting on the bed.

 

"Yeah, that last rules a funny one, did you know a door is classed as a privilege?" the older pilot remarked, Keith's eyes darted to his own door, relived to see his was still on it's hinges, but now curiosity was getting the better of him, Shiro seemed to be waiting for Keiths inevitable question as to why his was taken away. However any hope of an answer seemed to diminish when Shiro wandered back to the doorway. "Well... It's great to have you here but I'm gonna go have a nap" he said, "They left a schedule for you around here too, I think today is physiotherapy..?" he trailed off. Keith nodded, his head swimming, "Uhh... Okay, sure" he finally mustered, not knowing if Shiro was asking for permission or simply telling him as his new caretaker.

Shiro left with a grunt and wandered across the hall into his own door-less room and out of Keith's line of sight. The younger cadet waited, long enough to hear Shiro rustle on his bed before silence fell on the house, Keith sneaked over to his door and closed it, pressing his head against it. He hadn't realised he was holding his breath until his chest began to tighten and he let out a long breath, "Oh boy..." he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, this wasn't stupid, it was ridiculous.

 

Keith had been living with Shiro for a week and had been added into the strict routine that had been structured around his charge. Contrary to Pidge's forewarning, it pretty much was babysitting, since Shiro couldn't anymore Keith was now pretty much, his personal driver.

The amount of appointments that Shiro held with various Garrison personnel was extreme to say the least, psychotherapists, physicians, higher ups from the army division and space division. Then there were some weird guys in suits Keith had never seen in his own military career who always seemed to wait outside for Shiro after some of his appointments, thankfully they paid no mind to Keith who was always told to wait in the car. They themselves driving away once Shiro would rejoin Keith in the dusty jeep to be brought home or to another specialist.

 

This time Shiro closed the door behind him and dropped a bunch of papers of Keiths lap. "Prescriptions" he sighed, putting on his seatbelt. Keith had to stop himself from reaching over and doing it for Shiro, who needed a few tries before he could reach the buckle across to the fastener. Instead Keith decided to read through the new pills they would have to get on base to distract himself.

"These... seem like an awful lot" Keith said, each long winded drug name was followed with 75g or 100mg doses, a final click from Shiro's side of the car as he won his battle with the seatbelt, the older man- again with the shrugging- jerked his shoulders and pressed his forehead against the window, appreciating the cold air blasting from the air conditioning in front of them, "Doctors orders" he muttered, closing his eyes.

Keith rolled his eyes and put the car in drive, figuring Shiro had filled his three word quota for this conversation at least. They drove in silence, they always drove in silence, Keith had been finding this 'Post-Kerebos' Shiro was really not one for conversation at all. Any questions or queries Keith ever had were met by grunts or brief sentences, more than once during their week together Shiro would just point at the laminated cards dotted around the apartment explaining constant rules and regulations laid out for the both of them.

 

The base spanned for hundreds of kilometers, so the department store and pharmacy that were on base was about a fifteen minute drive away from where they had seen Shiro's shrink. Once Shiro had settled in for another god damn nap, Keith fumed in silence beside him, restraining himself from slamming his foot on the gas and just driving the hell away from the mess of a situation.

 

He didn't, however. He never did, something always kept him from doing it and at this moment in time, Keith was chalking it down to pity on a former role model.

 

Sun was beginning to set over the desert as Keith pulled upto the department store, deliberately making as much noise as he could pulling up the handbrake and opening his door, when this did nothing to stir Shiro, who at this point was out cold, Keith's patience wore thin. "Hey, Shiro" Keith hissed, as politely as he could make it sound, Shiro stirred drowsily, crossing his arm over his chest in a protective fashion he struggled to open his eyes at Keith, "Yeah I'm awake, just go in and get the... stuff" was all he could muster before finding a comfortable spot against the window again.

Six and a half days of this crap was quickly becoming Keith's limit, he gripped the steering wheel for restraint, "These prescriptions need your signature for us to get them, Shiro" Keith explained, expecting an answer but all he got was a cold stare from Shiro, wondering why he was keeping him awake instead of letting him doze in front of the air con. These staredowns had become a commonplace thing in their tiny bungalow, Keith trying to assert whatever authority he held in his own current situation over Shiro, usually it didn't work but this time, Shiro gave him the worst attempt at a smile Keith had ever seen and he begrudgingly opened his door, "Fine" he simply stated.

 

Feeling like he had been kicked in the chest, Keith tried to remind himself how to breath again while fumbling to lock the jeep while Shiro wandered into the department store, wincing from the harsh fluorescent lights it had to offer. Keith trailed after him to the Pharmacy department at the back, the pharmacist on duty visibly freezing when Shiro came into her line of sight. When they reached the counter there was an awkward silence, Shiro obviously not wanting to begin in exchanging pleasantries and the poor civilian pharmacist was the definition of 'Oh god this is the pilot they've been talking about on base'. Keith offered her the scripts, "We uh... Need these" he interjected, the pharmacist nodded and snatched them from the counter, scurrying to the back of the shop away from the dead-eyed glare from Shiro.

While they stood in silence, apart from the upbeat tempo music pouring out from the stores speakers overhead, Keith wondered was this punishment really just a lesson in self-control, he wanted nothing more than to punch Shiro as hard as he could in his stupid scarred-up face. Pity could only excuse Shiro for so much, this whole situation was insane. Fine, Shiro had been through some... stuff, it didn't give him an excuse to act like a stuck up asshole to everyone around him. It probably wouldn't have angered Keith so much if it wasn't for the fact he had known the Shiro before all this, the one who... had a personality, who smiled, who's pep talks would make you think you could fly to the furthest reaches of space and he'd be cheering you on all the way.

The Shiro slumped over the counter was one Keith had no empathy for, if the Shiro he used to know had been lost in space for a year, this was what the stars had spat back.

 

"Here they are" the Pharmacist finally joined them again, handing Keith a white paper bag, the pill bottles rattling within it as Keith tucked it under his arm, the woman hesitated for a moment before she put a clipboard on the counter, sliding it between the both of them. "The... patient, needs to sign" she said, Shiro was too interested in a chap stick display beside the register, so her gaze settled on Keith.

"Shiro." Keith interrupted his charge, "That would be you" he reminded him. Shiro stood straight, with his shoulders back like that Keith sometimes forgot he was actually a few inches taller than him. "I can't" Shiro stated, raising an eyebrow at Keith, "You do it."

Keith was going to lose it, he felt his cheeks flush red as he dug his nails into his palms, feeling like his knuckles were going to burst from beneath his skin. He was sick of it, he was so sick of this drugged up mess of a person in front of him, protocols and procedures be damned, he was sick of this shit. He slammed his fist on the counter, making the clipboard and Pharmacist jump, "Sign the FUCKING page, Shirogane!" Keith erupted, "Now!!" he ordered. Even the monotonous music seemed to die away as everyone in the vicinity turned to look at Shiro, who simply stood there, swaying slightly as he glanced between a fuming Keith and the form with the X and dotted line, "Fine" he mumbled, reaching for the pen that had been strewn across the counter during Keith's outburst.

Keith exhaled deeply, swallowing away the lump in his throat and watched with daggers as Shiro, rather clumsily, tried to pick up the pen between his thumb and forefinger and bring it to hover over the page, Keith rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously that drugged up you can't pick up a pen? C'mon!" he exclaimed, his patience just didn't exist anymore, he crossed his arms, crushing the pill bottles against his chest as he watched Shiro with scrutiny. Shiro was bent over the counter, having stilled slightly from Keith's outburst but continued to slowly press the pen to paper. His hand curling awkwardly as he tried to inscribe the first letter of his name shakily on the page.

 

It wasn't till Shiro was re-positioning his hand to try and draw the 'S' for T-A-K-A-S-H-I, did Keith feel absolute dread rise up from his stomach.

 

"...It's fine" the Pharmacist stopped Shiro, gently taking the pen and clipboard away from him sparing him the trouble. She shot a look at Keith as she made her way to the back once more, disappearing from view. Shiro stood straight again, his eyes downcast at his remaining hand, ink now staining his index finger. "I was right handed" Shiro muttered, flexing his fingers before letting out a sigh and walking towards the store exit, leaving Keith a mess at the counter.

 

That night, Keith wasn't asleep, not after all... That. The car ride back to the bungalow was, bleak to say the least. Shiro had gone straight to his room when they arrived back, like he usually did, only this time if he had had a door Keith imagined he would've slammed it. Instead Shiro lay facing the wall and back to the door with a blanket over his head, as always. Keith kept himself busy, mostly to avoid replaying that awful moment in his head and having to apologize... Which he knew he had to it was just... Difficult.

Instead he refilled Shiros weekly pill box and out the daily report that would be picked up by the nurse who would show up every few days to change Shiro's arm dressings and finally fixed dinner. Switching out the tray that he had left on Shiro's bedside table the night before with a new one, hesitating for a moment to try and see if Shiro was sleeping or only pretending to be. Keith had to try a few times before his voice was any way audible.

"...Shiro?" he called out, tentatively, trying to notice any kind of response, Shiro's breathing was slow and steady however, he was out cold. Defeated, Keith dumped the tray in the kitchen to deal with tomorrow and collapsed into his own bed. He counted the ceiling tiles over and over and absolutely hating himself that he was doing that and not apologizing to the man in the next room.

On the second day of his punishment, Keith had been granted a military phone that was only to be used in emergency's. In essence, it was a glorified walkie-talkie, powerful enough to pick up most signals being broadcasted on the base, so far he hadn't needed it. Keith was counting the tiles for the third time over, when static hissed on the walkie-talkie, currently charging in the corner of his room.

 

"1, 2. 1, 2, this iiiissss Danger Blue, are you out there Red Ranger? Over." the indistinguishable voice of Lance-fucking-Ramirez, suddenly filling his room. Keith scrambled over to the phone, pressing down the button.

"Lance! Wh-what the hell are you doing? How did you manage to get this line?!" he hissed into the receiver, he released the button and held the phone against his ear, wincing from the static.

"...You're supposed to say 'over' when you finish talking, over" Lance replied over the line. Keith groaned, "Put Pidge on" Keith muttered "...over"

 

Of course Pidge had been the one to figure out a way to produce a pirate signal and be able to broadcast it from their hangar all the way on the other side of the base, or at least that was what she had tried to explain over a line that seemed to dip out every few seconds. "We thought you'd want a bit of respite from 'Psycho-gane' over there, over" Lance took lead of the walkie-talkie, Keith stilled and looked over his shoulder at his closed door, praying Shiro hadn't woken.

"After today, that'd be nice" Keith sighed, now leaning against the wall and under the one window that was illuminating his room with moonlight, he stretched his feet out into the rectangle of moonlight projecting into the grey carpet, listening for a voice over the static to come through again.

"Good, cause Hunk should be pulling up right about.... now, over!" Lance reported in and like it had been rehearsed, a set of headlights peered into the window and the sound an engine purred outside, Keith peered out the window, his eyes widening when Hunk squinted back to make sure he had gotten the right window and waved upon seeing Keith's head poking out. 

"What are you doing here?!" Keith hissed as he cracked the window open, Hunk didn't get off the bike instead he just hurriedly gestured for Keith to come outside. Forgetting he was wearing only pyjama pants and a t-shirt, Keith grabbed his keys and darted out of his room, lingering for a moment at Shiro's door, making sure he was still out cold before sneaking out the front door. Hunk perked up when Keith quietly closed the front door behind him and ran over to the bike, rubbing his arms as the wind picked up, getting sand in his eyes.

 

"So I'm guessing the signal worked then?" Hunk grinned, revving up the engine again as Keith got on the bike, his teeth chattering as he tried to give Hunk a nod. The ride back to their hangar was a quick one, Hunk was a frustratingly careful driver in most cases, but now he drove with his headlights dimmed and had them at the hanger quicker than Keith even would've managed. "Hopefully no one saw us" Hunk mused as they pulled up to the hangar, lit mostly by lanterns and glows from laptop screens Pidge had scattered around the place. Lance was already pulling the door open for them to bring the bike in. Keith shrugged and looked behind them, he had kept an eye out for any headlights that may have followed them on the way, but he severely doubted it, unless you were anywhere near the perimeters or barracks the base was pretty much dead at night.

"...Nah we're good" Keith assured them, surveying the horizon once more deciding it was safe before helping Hunk wheel the bike back into hangar where the others were waiting. 

 

"Good to have you back, bud!" Lance greeted Keith who planted the bikes kickstand on the ground, "What you couldn't dress up for us?" he asked. Keith couldn't help but smirk, in any other situation he would've replied with a punch to Lances arm, but he had missed that losers voice after a week of grunts and sighs from Shiro.  
"Just a bit" he replied, jumping atop a re-salvaged tool chest, "So what have you guys been doing since I was gone?" he asked, noticing there were a lot more laptops than usual scattered around the place, some hooked upto machines Keith didn't recognize.

"Research" Pidge answered him, popping up from behind the tool box he was sitting on, adjusting her glasses as she found whatever she was looking for within it. "On your new friend" she said, pottering over to her desktop, which was really about four laptops that had been hobbled together to make some Frankenstein like monster of a machine.

"Yeah dude! You should've seen the stuff Pidge was able to dig up!" Lance confirmed whilst Pidge was booting up their files, "It's a whole conspiracy man, it goes right to the top!"

"Maybe not to the top" Pidge muttered, her eyes glued to the screen, "But definitely involves some divisions of the Garrison we are not supposed to know about" she smirked at her last statement, pressing one final button and the screen changed to an official looking desktop screen, complete with the Garrison logo.

Keith hadn't realized he had slid off the toolbox and had walked over to the rest of them until Pidge entered some sort of password and a folder opened, containing what looked like MP4 files. "...What are those?" he asked, already knowing the answer.  
"CCTV footage from the night they found Shiro. There's a lot dude." Hunk said behind him, offering Keith a bag of chips which he accepted, dipping his hand in and still watching the screen as Pidge opened another folder on a different laptop.

"We just thought since you're gonna be spending three months taking care of him... You should know what you're getting yourself into" Pidge said, finding the file she was looking for and clicked on it. A loading cursor appeared and then the media player opened. The video Keith was looking at was set at a high angle, clearly a surveillance camera, it was inside what looked like an infirmary. Pidge pressed the space bar and the low resolution footage played. 

He heard Shiro before he saw him, there was screaming and yelling, mostly for whoever his pursuers were to leave him alone. Something crashed offscreen and Shiro suddenly collapsed into frame, it made Keith wince seeing him in the state the video was presenting him in. He was wearing some weird, black jumpsuit and some tattered purple shirt over it. What was most shocking though was missing arm, in this video, he had one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank for all the support you guys have shown this dumb little story!! Sorry to leave it at such a cliffhanger derp.
> 
> Again thank you so much, I really appreciate it!!! (•̀o•́)ง(•̀o•́)ง(•̀o•́)ง(•̀o•́)ง(•̀o•́)ง
> 
> and again again, totally unbeated because derp this is just a side project to keep me sane at the mo(~д~*)


	3. Chapter 3

This was terrifying. 

 

Everything was wrong, everything was so so wrong. His head was spinning, he could only see bleary outlines of shapes, his arm was a deadweight so he had to carry it. Being too top heavy on his right side, he was slamming into walls and doors, desperately trying to make sense of where he had been brought after... 

Well he didn't really know how he'd gotten here.

"Stop!" he could hear voices behind him, if anything they spurred him to keep going. He managed to round another corner but crashed into a rouge medical trolley laying in wait, he collapsed to the floor, wincing from medical instruments clattering around him, his hearing still far too sensitive. His pursuers took the opportunity to finally catch up with him.  
Humans in hazmat suits wielding more objects that looked like they were made just to cause pain. 

"Takashi Shirogane, there are orders for your immediate surrender" a robotic sounding voice came from one of the guys in the suits, probably because of the mask both were wearing. "Cease and surrender, immediately" they advised. Shiro of course, didn't hear them, he scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, backing himself up against the wall, he was still nursing his arm. "T-the Blades..." he panted, "Are you the Blades...?" he asked wearily, his eyes couldn't adjust he was practically blinded by the harsh lights overhead.

"Cease and surrender" they ordered again, both activating rods they had been equipped with, they flashed to life, humming with live electricity. "That is our last warning or we will have to administer force"

"Voltron... The Blades..." Shiro mumbled again, completely ignoring his pursuers, there was a rising sense of urgency and panic within his chest. He had to find something, it was coming back to him now, he had to get to something. "Have to... find Voltron" he muttered. Finally making eye contact with his pursuers, "Where's Voltron!?" he shouted, he didn't get an answer, only 50,000 volts to his ribs.

 

 

"...It uh, gets a bit graphic after that" Pidge muttered, pressing the spacebar on the laptop to pause the video. Everything in the hangar sat in silence, all waiting for Keiths reaction. Realizing he had an audience he muttered a simple "Wow" to break the tension.

"Yeah right?!" Lance agreed, sitting up and walking over to the small fridge, "Like, what the heck is a Voltron? What's with the arm? Where'd he get the suit? What's with the hair?!" he rambled, fishing for a soda within the confines on the fridge, Pidge shrugged, "Beats me, I have't been able to find anything on the Garrisons record about a Voltron" she mused, "I was able to make out he says something like 'The Blades' too, again nothing" she said, her hands hovering above the laptops mouse, it usually meant she was thinking. "I might have to look further" she said.

"...What happens afterwards?" Keith asked, Pidge looked at him sympathetically. "Like I said, it's not pretty, Shiro ends up mangling up one of those guys pretty bad" she said.

"The arm lights up" Hunk interjected, rubbing the light stubble on his chin, "Lights up?" Keith tilted his head, Hunk nodded, "It lights up and Shiro pretty much slices the guy in half, by the looks of it, it has to be as hot as a laser to be able to slice through that guy like butter." 

"Wait he was barely able to stand at the end of the tape, you're saying he... kills a guy?" Keith struggled to finish his sentence, hardly able to put 'kill' and 'Shiro' in the same sentence. 

"Something just takes over him man, I dunno I doubt a year just collecting space rocks does that to you" Hunk mused, Keiths stomach lurched, this was way too much information to get from one CCTV video. "You can watch the rest of it if you want" Pidge said, "But like we said... It's tough" Keith's head was spinning, he fell back against whatever object caught him as his body dropped, "This is crazy..." he mumbled, "So what, they took his robot arm, doped him up and now I'm baby-sitting him?" 

"Obviously there's more to this than we know" Pidge said over her shoulder, already infiltrating the Garrisons database on her laptop, "I've looked over the Kerberos files a hundred times, the official report states Shiro crashed landed in the desert not far from here and had to be subdued by force, then he mentions Voltron, blah blah blah. Pretty much everything on the tape" she sighs heavily and looks back at them, "There's nothing else"

 

A silence dawned again, everyone knew there was another reason Pidge was frustrated at the lack of practically any information in the Kerberos files but now was not the time to bring it up.

"So... What do we do now?" Lance asked, covering the sound of his soda can opening with his question, Hunk answered while Pidge was still having a moment. "Well, I guess we can dig around for stuff here, it's only fair Keith gets a heads up that he's babysitting a psycho"  
"Thanks for that, really instills confidence in me" Keith sighed, "I wish I could just ask Shiro what the hell happened, but he's a zombie, the amount of pills he's on can't be normal"

"Shoot, you said he was getting new pills nearly every day right?" Lance asked, Keith shrugged "Apparently they're trying to find the right medication to suit his mental well-being... Is what I'm told" he replied, able to recite by memory the answer he would get from any superior officer when he tried to pry into why there was an entire locked cabinet of pills back in that tiny kitchen.

"Mental well-being my ass, I bet they're covering up something" Lance proposed, knocking back his soda, "Can't rat on anyone if you're head is swimming in Vicodin and Adderall"

"Well you're not... Wrong" Keith trailed off, thinking back on all the prescription scripts that had been passed onto him since he had been with Shiro, more importantly the effects on the tiny pill bottles... Drowsiness, memory loss, vertigo, irritability, "Jeez, Lance I think you're right..."

Lance was stunned for a moment at the abrupt compliment, but took it in his stride, smirking "Of course I am, dude! I always sai--"

Before Lance could finish, someones phone vibrated on the workbench beside them, "Awh shoot, we gotta go" Hunk hurried over to the bench, swiping away the dancing phone on his screen, "An hour till roll call"

"We'll catch up with you in a few days, we'll see what we can find out about this whole Voltrobe thing" Lance announced.

"Voltron" Pidge corrected him over her shoulder, she watched Hunk hurry Keith back to the bike to get him back to the other side of the base, "Stay safe, Keith... Seriously" she called after them. 

 

Thanks to Hunk and his vigilant time keeping, a second alarm vibrated in his pocket as he pushed the bike quietly under Keith's bedroom window, "Phew... Made it" he sighed, turning the phone off, Keith hopped off the bike and turned to Hunk, "Hunk... Was the video really that bad?" he whispered, terrified Shiro was lingering nearby.

Hunk hesitated for a moment, kicking at the dirt trying to form his words, "Bad in the sense in that I guess..." he trailed off, Keith hummed, trying to catch Hunks eyes as he looked away. "What?"

"We all really liked Shiro y'know? It was just really hard to see him like that" he muttered, finally locking eyes with Keith.

"To see him killing someone?" Keith whispered, Hunk shook his head. 

"To see him so scared..."

 

 

He was able to get back into the house with ease, Shiro was still knocked out in his room, Keith lingered by the doorway, mostly just to see if he was still breathing. Guilt and shame hung over him, mostly because he had snuck out and had left him here. Obviously the man was fine, but still Keith felt like he had peered at something he shouldn't have seen when he was with the others, something ugly and violent that he hadn't earned yet. He had only been with Shiro for a week, apart from being a former student who idolized his teacher, he was really only an acquaintance to Shiro, turned out he hardly knew anything about him.

He was still in the doorway as Shiro stirred, Keith stilled dreading that Shiro would wake and see his caretaker awkwardly standing over him, instead he merely groaned and swiped at his blankets, pulling them close to his chest.  
Watching him, Keith tilted his head as the bedding shifted and he noticed a weird dent just beside the bed He had never noticed it before, but whatever way the morning light was filtering through the window, it hit the little notch just right to have it catch Keith's eye. He probably shouldn't, it was probably nothing, but after the night he had had and while Shiro was knocked out, he might as well but his mind to ease so he could sleep off the nights events.

He crept forward, avoiding the table with untouched food, Shiro's room was bare, horribly bare, a wardrobe, bed, small bedside table and that's it, after a year in space and one robot arm, he didn't exactly have a lot of possessions. Holding his breath, Keith ran his fingers over the wall beside the bed, glancing down to make sure Shiro was still asleep, he frowned at his charge, wondering if night sweats were an affect of one of the many drugs he was taking. Still out cold, Keith ignored him for now and ran his hand over the groove, wondering maybe was it from moving furniture?  
His fingers trailed over to the wardrobe, pressing his face to the wall and squinting, Keith couldn't make out anything, it was too dark behind the wardrobe, sticking his hand behind it though, he definitely could feel some more grooves there. Standing straight he sighed and looked the piece of furniture up and down, wondering how heavy it would be to lift it.

Glancing over at Shiro again, who was now twitching in his sleep, presumably dreaming now, Keith turned back to the wardrobe, took a breath and grabbed the thing, hissing quietly as the thing groaned upon moving. It took a few tugs, but Keith was able to pull the thing away from the wall just enough for him to peek behind it.  
He took a few breaths and shook out his arms before he peered around the wardrobe, his eyes widening upon seeing engraved on the wall, over and over again the word 'VOLTRON' 

 

Then Shiro started screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looooool sorry for the big hiatus, life happened and bleccchhhh im only getting this back on track now.
> 
> but yeah a little sappy and not a lot of shiro in this chapter but hey, the plot has to come in somewhere.
> 
> thank you guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuys (i promise the next chapter wont take a long-or at least hope it wont)
> 
> (also totally not betaed just fyi)


	4. Chapter 4

This was crazy.

 

Keith had only pulled out the wardrobe a foot or two and had registered the crude carvings before the man sleeping next to him suddenly erupted into screams.  
He had practically leapt into the air as Shiro sat up straight, swiping at nothing trying to defend himself from some imaginary beings.

Keith’s mouth opened and closed, agape he has meant to say something along the lines of ‘What’s wrong’ or ‘Calm down’. But instead, given the entire situation, he was frozen.

"Stop, stop!! You’ve already taken my hand, what else do you-- I-I don’t know anything about Voltron! Please!” Shiro cried, his eyes were open but he wasn’t awake, he was trapped in whatever horrifying memory his brain was cruelly replaying for him.

In the commotion, his blankets had wrapped around his torso. With only one arm he was a pitiful sight frantically trying to unfurl himself from its grasp.

Finally, Keith’s brain whirred back to life, rushing over and grasping Shiro’s shoulders.

"Shiro. Hey, Shiro!” Keith called out to his charge but he was miles away from the shitty bungalow in the middle of the desert.

"U-Ulaz, Ulaz--” Shiro gasped, grabbing a fist full of Keith’s t-shirt, pulling him forward, Keith was yanked forward, playing the role of whoever Shiro was talking to. “Help me-- Please”

"Shiro…” Keith said again, getting scared now, he put both his hands over Shiro’s, “It’s me, it’s Keith.” he gently reminded him, hoping to God Shiro would snap out of it.

He wasn’t sure if it was the physical contact, it took a few moments for Shiro’s shouts and pleas for help subsided into small whimpers and heavy breathing. His eyes re-focused, he looked up at Keith and then to his arm, as if seeing it for the first time again.

“You… Okay?” was all Keith could offer, Shiro stared up at him, an obvious ‘no’ being his answer. Shiro just groaned, falling backwards but with Keith still holding into him he awkwardly fell against the mans chest.

Instinctively Keith held his arms out to catch him but it was a bit awkward.   
If Keith was honest, he wasn’t really sitting at the right angle to be holding Shiro like this, his right leg folded up under him, Shiro’s added weight made him feel the oncoming sensation of pins and needles.   
Also Shiro was twice his size and really not making any effort to fit better in his grasp but Keith felt like he couldn’t just let him go.

 

So both men stayed like that. Keith let Shiro cry into his shoulder, he knew what a panic attack looked like when he saw one, he also knew he probably wasn’t Shiro’s first choice to experience this with. Shiro’s breathing was irregular and laboured, gulping down mouthfuls of air in and effort to regulate his breathing, but every exhale was a choked sob. He cried until his breathing soothed out into soft whimpers.

Keith's t-shirt was wet, it was awkward, Keith shifted but Shiro took this as a signal for something and pulled out of the hol. Using the back of his hand to wipe his eyes.

"Sorry” was all he merely said, keeping his head down and away from Keih like a scolded child. Something about that made Keith’s stomach lurch.

 

"Hey, it’s alright” Keith replied, sitting properly now on the bed not knowing if he should just give Shiro some privacy. Well as much as he could with no door to close behind him.

"No, I mean I’m sorry, you don't need to be around this” Shiro groaned, pulling his knees up to his chest “I know you're only here because you crashed a glider. it's fucked they even have you around me”

Again, Keith’s stomach flipped, he didn’t know that Shiro has been told exactly why he’d been assigned as his charge.  
“It was more than just a glider.” Keith corrected him, Shiro’s eyes darted up in a flicker of interest. Now wasn’t the time though.

 

Keith continued, “But hey, this isn’t a great situation for anyone here” he said, he was surprised when Shiro gave a low hum that was almost a laugh, he thunked his head against the wall and covered his face with his hand.

“Statement of the fucking century” he mumbled behind a calloused palm, trying to keeping the morning sunlight out of his eyes, with the wardrobe being his former source of shade.

 

Keith just awkwardly half-smiled back, glancing between Shiro and the carvings on the wall, he knew what he wanted to ask and so did Shiro.

“I still had an arm when I came back to Earth” he muttered, lowering his hand, in the sun he could only squint at the cadet, “So… I wasn’t bullshitting when when we were getting those pills earlier to-- Yesterday” Shiro corrected himself.

“Geez, do you even know what day it is?” Keith asked.

Honestly the Voltron thing could wait, it was seeing Shiro curled up on a bed cot like this, bathed in sunlight he should’ve looked like the embodiment of Adonis himself. But the sunlight now was harsh and cold, only highlighting how gaunt Shiro’s face actually was. How badly his lips were chapped and chewed and the dark circles under his eyes, it made Keith finally feel unbridled sympathy for him.

Shiro just shrugged as always, closing his eyes from the sun. The sunlight made his eyelids look a shade of dark lavender.

“I don’t even know what month it is, Keith” was his answer.

 

They sat together with that statement hanging over them, damp in the air. It was obvious both men knew the situation presented for both of them, well more or less. Enough for each each to understand how much of a fucking train wreck it was.

 

Keith sighed, looking out at the sun. Today was in fact, Tuesday, which meant Shiro was scheduled for a meeting with a panel with some of the elite higher ups in the Garrison, he wasn’t told much besides that. What he did know was because Shiro’s old Garrison uniform was being cleaned, pressed and delivered in two hours, that this was a big, big deal.

"You need a shower, you have a meeting at ten” Keith reminded his charge, Shiro opened his eyes again tensing up, “They already know about this” he said, ‘this’ being the tagged wall. “How do you think I lost my door?”

Keith blinked back at him, dumbfounded. “I-I wasn’t going to tell them about it…” he trailed off, a bit crestfallen, upset that Shiro assumed he was there just to rat him out, but what had he done for Shiro to be worthy of the mans trust? Apart from making a show of him at a drug store and getting pissed off and him taking naps in the car.

 

Whether Shiro got the gist or not, he leaned himself forward, shuffling around Keith to slide off the bed. Shrugging off the t-shirt he had been wearing in one swift motion and now topless, Shiro made Keith’s eyes dart to the ground.

Shiro was obviously a lot different than before, he was a lot paler, first off. Also wherever he had been, a well balanced diet or nutrition had not been his main concern. His torso was marred with angry deep red scars. Some were clearly from a sharp blade or weapon, others were from something or someone wanting strips of Shiro’s flesh for themselves.

If Shiro had noticed Keith looking, he hadn’t made it obvious, any sense of bodily autonomy was long gone.

 

That stupid silence hung in the air again, sheepishly Keith glanced between Shiro and the wardrobe.

 

“Clean yourself up, I’m going to make breakfast, you need to eat something before we go” Keith said, anything else he wanted to say or ask was replaced with him darting to the wardrobe to shove it back to its original place. His questions about who or what Voltron was being covered up by cheap plywood furniture. The last groan coming from the piece being put back into its rightful place was Keith’s “Sorry for snooping around your shit”

Shiro swayed in the doorway, watching Keith sigh once it was back where it belonged, he wiped his hands on his pants,looking at Shiro with raised eyebrows as if he weren’t holding him amidst a panic attack moments ago.

"Do you need me to help you shower? C’mon we can’t be late” Keith reminded him, softly but firm, the way his Mom would talk to him when he was younger.

He could’ve sworn he saw Shiro ‘try’ to smile, the drugs didn’t seem to allow for much in the way of emoting past head nods and grunts. But for what it was worth, Keith would take it.

“Alright, fine.” Shiro said, no real malice or resentment behind it. He shuffled to the bathroom that was next door. Keith thought he heard a small ‘Thank you’ before the door closed.

Keith stayed there until he heard the shower turn on, the ancient mechanism practically rattled the tiny bungalow. His shoulders sagged, not realising he had been so tense all this time. He exhaled when he heard the shower curtain swoosh close.

He closed his eyes, this was crazy, but he had to keep going, Shiro would tell him when he was ready.

If he was ever ready.

 

Striding into his own bedroom, listening for the creaks coming from the shitty shower unit to know Shiro was at least still on his feet. Keith caught a glimpse of himself in his mirror, his pyjama shirt and pants were covered in a thin layer of orange dust from his previous rendezvous. He hissed at himself. Had Shiro noticed? Fuck fuck fuuuck.

He whipped his pyjamas and threw them into the corner of his room, he’d worry about them later. The nurse that would collect Keith’s report and dress Shiro’s arm would be coming in half an hour.   
Throwing on clothes that made him look half decent and thanking God for being allowed wear civilian clothes during this whole ordeal. Keith made it to the kitchen to cook simple eggs and bacon, he would force feed it to Shiro if he had to.

 

He was plating it up when he heard Shiro come out of the shower, going back into his room. Keith reached up to the locked cabinet and put in the code for the padlock that kept it out of bounds for Shiro. He popped open the little pill window for ‘Tuesday’ and put the multicolored pills on the tray.

This was really the first moment he had really looked at what he had been giving Shiro. There was about six pills on the tray, all of them were huge, multicolored and on a list somewhere as only the morning supplements of Shiro’s strict regimen.

Keith’s nostrils flared as he stared down at them, beside the tray was the clipboard that was always on the kitchen counter, an official Garrison letter headed form, with names of numerous pills and little boxes Keith had to tick when Shiro received them.

Yesterday’s was filled out, ready to be collected. He looked between the try and the form, once, twice, three times before he grabbed the biggest ones and tossed them down the garbage disposal.

 

He coughed as he walked down the hallway back to Shiro’s room to give him even just a little warning before he made an entrance with his breakfast. Shiro was already dressed… Sure it was the same clothes he had been wearing for the past two days, but Keith could live with that.

“Please eat this, it’s my job to make sure you eat” Keith said, putting the tray on Shiro’s lap in the bed, he was already holding out a glass of water for Shiro who feebly took the pills that were left on the tray.   
He hesitated for a moment, staring down at them.

Keith swallowed hard, no going back, he held the glass of water closer for Shiro to take, he took it and knocked the pills back. Gulping down the water he looked up at Keith, “Thanks” he mumbled again, knowing Keith wouldn’t leave until he picked up the fork and took at least one bite.

Keith left the room with the need to punch a wall, he was distracted however with a key being inserted into the front door. The morning nurse arrived, greeting Keith with a curt nod before putting her bag of supplies on the counter and picking up the clipboard, she took out a pen and signed and ticked some boxes before looking up at Keith.

“Shirogane took his morning pills already?”

"Yes” Keith lied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol dont fuck with med doses keef

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends.
> 
> This is something I've typing up as a kinda stress reliever, tbh so I don't know where this will end? (well I kinda do but y'know) I want to post a big disclaimer here now that this is entirely fictional, it's gonna be dealing with a ton of mental illness and all that stuff. I have no experience or knowledge of how mental illness is treated in an army/military situation and this story isn't a reflection of that, it's completely fictitious in how Shiro's treated/been treated in this fic and may seem out of place but trust me there's reasons for everything here.
> 
> Other than that I hope you enjoyed. It's completely unbetaed so apologies for any blatant grammar mistakes, I'm not a writer this is something that's more or less a stress reliever while dealing with my own mental stuff ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ


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